Video Help

Tips for viewing videos

These are “streaming” videos. This means that they download as a stream to your computer and you can start watching them as they are streaming. Previously, videos had to be completely downloaded before you could view them.

“Buffering” is the name given to the process of downloading. As soon as a suitably sized chunk of video has been delivered, it starts to play. As it is playing a further chunk is being downloaded (buffered) in the background.

If the speed at which you view the video is faster than the speed of buffering in the background, you will find that the video stops until the buffering is complete.

The important factor is how quickly your computer and ISP connection can download information.

You can find out how quickly your system downloads information from the internet by using various websites that can test the speed for you. One such example is: http://www.speedtest.net

It is the download speed that is important. A typical average is about 6 Mb/sec. If you are getting a lot of buffering you may probably find that your download speed is around 2Mb/s.

The time of day can affect download speed. Usually, mornings are quiet and download speeds faster. In the evening when the ‘net is most used, download speeds are usually much slower.

The only way to change your total download speed is to change your ISP but be careful because they may advertise “up to 20mb/s” but that doesn’t mean you’ll get it.

Here are some tips:

1. If you are using a Wi-Fi connection, try to use a cable connection which is 10 times faster. TP-Link is a system that uses your home power cabling as a big LAN (local area network). Check it on Google.

2. Start your computer from scratch and make sure all non-essential programs are closed down.

5. Remember that viewing videos in the morning will give you faster download speeds. Try again at a different time. Evenings are the worst of download speeds.

6. If you go back to the video landing page it’s important that you click the “refresh” key otherwise you may be viewing an older version of the page that was stored in the cache of your computer.

7. Try an alternative Browser such as Firefox.

8. Graphics Card Problems:

Occasionally we come across compatibility issues with particular graphics cards.

If you are using Windows 7 you can also disable a setting globally by following these steps:
Right-click on your computer desktop and select Screen Resolution –> Advanced Settings –> Troubleshoot –> Change Settings and then slide the Hardware Acceleration bar to the None position. If this doesn’t change anything, restore the settings.

9. End of month problems can occur if you are near to exceeding your bandwidth with your IS Provider or broadband supplier. Check with your supplier if you are near your account limit.

10. Try a different computer, say a friend or relative, just to see if the problem is confined to your set up.